Cap Crunching

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; Kool asked in the Ho Wad thread what would constitute a crisis to those who do not currently see the perils of keeping Howard. My thought was, to some cutting AB and his escalating salary might do that for some. ...

Kool asked in the Ho Wad thread what would constitute a crisis to those who do not currently see the perils of keeping Howard. My thought was, to some cutting AB and his escalating salary might do that for some. So, I googled to look up his current contract numbers and came across this WWL artcle I had not read before--

Perhaps the biggest complain and/or gripe I hear from Saints fans is, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“We shouldÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢ve kept Jake!ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬? Yeah, I know, Delhomme has gone onto bigger and better things (a Super Bowl appearance, for instance) while the Saints continue to wallow in mediocrity. For those fansÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â€Âhell, for most fansÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â€ÂAaron Brooks is the problem.

Aaron Brooks' numbers indicate he is not worth the same salary as a top five quarterback.

ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“Get rid of Brooks!ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬? they shout at the top of their lungs to a choir of the already converted. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“Brooks BashersÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬? know how to mobilize and get their voices heard, especially following a turgid performance by the embattled quarterback. Each of them wishes to be the one to personally give A.B. his walking papers. To a certain extent, I agree with these rabid fans.

Brooks is partly to blame for the SaintsÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢ woes in recent years. His play is inconsistent and he lacks certain leadership skills necessary to push this team over the hump. This should be nothing new to most of you. Over the past couple of months, IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢ve read many e-mails and listened to many callers on the radio suggest the Saints go in a different direction regarding quarterbacks. Some of these folks are the ones who would mention the name of Jake Delhomme in the same breath as John Paul II.

Allow me to play the role of Rick Pitino. ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“Folks, Jake Delhomme is not going to come through that door.ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬? There; I said it.

With that out of the way, other fans seem to insist on acquiring one of a few QBs new to the free agent market. Here is where I differ from most Saints fans: I donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t think we need a new starting quarterback; rather, this team desperately needs a more than adequate backup quarterback. In my universe, Todd Bouman simply will not do. Over the span of an eight year careerÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â€Âor a possible 128 regular season games since ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã‹Âœ97 seasonÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â€ÂBouman has played in 26 regular season games and started in three of them. Three; and that was in 2001 for the Minnesota Vikings.

Want to know BoumanÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s passer stats with the Saints? Bouman played in four games, going 7 of 13 for 81 yards and a touchdown, with a passer rating of 98.6. I have strong doubts this guy could come in if Brooks were taken out of the game and post a good game behind center. That is part of the reason why we need a better backup.

HereÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s another reason. While I wouldnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t classify myself a ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“Brooks Basher,ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬? IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢m definitely not in the ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“Brooks is greatÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬? camp, either. The problem with Aaron Brooks is not that heÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s terrible; he just isnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t good enough. IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢ve watched Brooks get sloppy and grow complacent over the years as an unchallenged starter. Despite his own claims when he demanded a new contract a few years ago, Brooks is hardly worth the money of a top five quarterback in the NFL. And perhaps that is what angers ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“Brooks BashersÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬? the most: he doesnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t play up to the level he claims heÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s capable of.

To prove my point, I compared the 2003 total salaries (a combination of base salary, signing bonus and other bonuses) of the top nine passer rated quarterbacks from 2004. Why the 2003 salaries? Because acquiring the 2004 salary information of even one player from the NFL Players Association is like trying to cram Star Jones into one of those ridiculously undersized dresses she struts around in on the red carpet. Zing!

(Special note: I didnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t include PittsburghÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s Ben Roethlisberger in the equation, even though heÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s ranked in the top ten in passer rating, because he is a rookie and I couldnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t get his salary info.)

See this guy? He won three Super Bowls in four years. His salary was smaller than Brooks'. Anybody have a problem with this?

In 2003, Aaron Brooks made $7.5 million in total salary. His 2004 passer rating was 79.5, good enough for 17th overall in the NFL. Still not convinced Brooks is unworthy of his high salary? I did some digging with the help of some guys in the Sports Department, and found out Brooks is scheduled to make the following base salary over the next several years:

2004 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â€Âœ $3.25 million

2005 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â€Âœ $5.5 million

2006 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â€Âœ $6.25 million

2007 ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â€Âœ $7.25 million
Mind you, IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢m not factoring in a signing bonus and/or other bonuses. That information is even harder to come by. To be fair to Brooks, though, IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢m not sure if his signing bonus will continue to be paid off in the coming years. But still, is Brooks worth a base salary of $5.5 million this coming season? IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢d say no. HereÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s more food for thought: my inside source, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“guy who knows a guy,ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬? told me a couple months ago that BrooksÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢ total salary from last year (2004) was third highest in the NFL, behind Culpepper and Manning. I donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t know about you, folks, but when I think of the three best quarterbacks in the league, I certainly donÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t envision Aaron Brooks standing next to Culpepper and Manning. I could easily name ten guys whom IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢d rather have as starting QBs over Brooks.

While it sounds like IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢m throwing Brooks under the bus, IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢m really just trying to jumpstart the manÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s career, because itÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢s been on life support these past two years. I believe that Brooks needs to feel challenged for his job. With somebody who is more than capable of replacing him standing on the sidelines, Brooks will be under pressure to produce. Some of you might say, ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã…Â“Kevin, Haslett wouldnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t take Brooks out before, what makes you think heÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢ll do that now?ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬?

To that IÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢d say, good question. I think the reason Haslett never replaced Brooks was that maybe he didnÃƒÂ¢Ã¢Â‚Â¬Ã¢Â„Â¢t believe the guys on the bench could get the job done. Now, with a former starter on the bench, Haslett might be more likely to yank Brooks if things go sour during a game.

Let\'s say we\'d had a higher pick this year, we still would have taken Brown (I suppose, if we\'d had 1-5 we may have had a tougher choice - my guess is we would have traded down rather than take Edwards or one of the RBs. Ask the 9ers how excited they are about having to take Smith #1.)

There are too many variables in losing. Having a high pick doesn\'t guarantee that we\'ll get our next savior.

I thought that a mediocre year last year would lead to a regime change. I guess I was way wrong about that. I suppose, there may be some argument for losing in that, but otherwise, I can bring myself to do it.

Getting rid of AB would be stupid. I wonder what game\'s you guys have been watching. AB is not the only reason we have been subpar. Sure he makes a few mistake\'s but no more then any other QB. The reason we are subpar is because we never show up as a team. There is always at least one phase of our game that dose\'nt show up. Either our D, O, or ST fails to show up. Sure sometimes its the passing game, but its no more him then it is, WR dropping passes, or the O-line not blocking, etc.
I think if we could ever get our TEAM firing on all 8 cylinders, AB would flurish, prob be a Probowler.